Highlights of the September 23 Lincoln Board of Education and ESU 18 regular meetings

September 23, 2025

The Lincoln Board of Education and Educational Service Unit 18 held regular meetings on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. 

Lincoln Board of Education

Special reports, presentations and celebrations of success

LPS Wellness - Vitality

Lincoln Public Schools Wellness Facilitator Michelle Welch provided an update for the Board. You can watch a highlight of the LPS Wellness presentation here. 

The Board is focusing on Staff Wellbeing and Outcomes as part of the 2024-2029 LPS Strategic plan. As part of that effort, Lincoln Public Schools Wellness and Benefits worked with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska to add Vitality as part of the benefits package. 

Vitality is an online platform that allows benefit-eligible employees (and LPS spouses enrolled in an LPS medical and/or dental plan) to customize a wellness plan and track their progress while earning rewards. Employees can earn over $300 in rewards, and spouses can earn over $175 in rewards. So far, over $300,000 in incentives have been earned by LPS employees and their spouses through the program.

Staff members can connect their fitness apps to Vitality, track workouts, complete wellness challenges, read articles, watch webinars, volunteer in the community and complete health assessments to earn points which can be converted into rewards like gift cards and fitness devices.

There were 2,316 individuals enrolled in Vitality during the program pilot from January through August. That number has grown in September to 2,606. 

It is important to note that the program is confidential for employees and personal information is not shared with LPS. Group data is shared with LPS so the district can provide resources to address areas of great health risk. 

LPS benefit-eligible employees can learn more and sign up for Vitality by visiting the LPS website.

First reading

Resolution for option enrollment students 2026-27

Nebraska students may attend a school other than the one in the district in which they reside under the option enrollment statutes as long as they meet the statutory and legal conditions, and their application is received by Aug. 7, 2026.

A state law passed by the Nebraska Legislature requires school districts to adopt option enrollment capacity limits by Oct. 15 for the following school year. The capacity limits for the 2026-27 school year will be published on the LPS website.

Option enrollment is different from the High School Choice form for LPS students. Lincoln Public Schools eighth graders and those going into LPS Focus Programs will continue to have their choice of attending any of the LPS high schools as long as they return the High School Choice Form by the deadline.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the resolution and capacity limits at the next meeting.

Unified Messaging Platform

LPS Staff are recommending the Board consider a three-year contract with Appetgy, a Unified Messaging Platform. 
Chief Technology Officer Kirk Langer and Executive Director of Communications Mindy Burbach gave a brief presentation to the Board about the communications tool that would assist the work of the district in meeting the April 2026 timeline of bringing digital content into Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) conformance as outlined in Title II. It would also update current communications tools and provide more options for staff, students and families to receive information. 

By using Apptegy, LPS would replace the current website platform, upgrade the mass notification through email/text/phone currently provided by School Messenger, add a consistent structure for school newsletters to meet ADA conformance, bring in a safe two-way texting platform for teachers and coaches to use with students and families and launch an LPS app as a one-stop-shop for information. 

The preliminary implementation timeline takes into account the need to train staff and administrators when they are available while keeping in mind contract deadlines. 

You can watch a highlight of the Unified Messaging Platform presentation here. The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the proposed three-year contract at the next meeting.

Second reading

2025-26 Lincoln Public Schools budget adoption and tax request

Building the budget begins each February when LPS staff review every budget line item and look at student enrollment and needs to match staffing levels for each school building. The budget process this year also focused on aligning resources with priorities adopted with the 2024-2029 LPS Strategic Plan.

Staff salaries and benefits make up approximately 89% of the total 2025-2026 proposed budget. Each month, LPS pays approximately 6,500 employees a total of $30 million - money that pumps back into the Lincoln economy through the purchase of goods, services and property taxes.

The Board held second reading on the proposed 2025-2026 LPS Budget that includes an approximately 8.8 cent reduction in the total levy, bringing it to a historic low $1.02 per $100 in property valuation. LPS is also proposing a 3.63% increase in the expenditure budget to $558,739,610. More information about the LPS and ESU 18 budgets and the process can be found on the website: https://home.lps.org/budget.

The Board voted to approve the budget and tax request.

Update Policy 3760: Safe Driving Record Standard for Drivers

The Board periodically reviews and revises policies to align with current practices or meet requirements set forth by local, state or federal laws and regulations.

Updates to policy 3760 reflect current practice and aligns with recent changes to state law that requires each person who operates a pupil transportation vehicle for the district meets all of the physical requirements and has a record of satisfactory driving.

The Board voted to approve the policy updates.

Northwest Activities Complex baseball field lighting project

LPS staff received bids on a baseball field lighting project at the Northwest Activities Complex. Staff recommended the lowest bid by IES Commercial Inc for the amount of $504,800.

The Board voted to approve the bid.

Update Policies: 4000 series

The Board periodically reviews and revises policies to align with current practices or meet requirements set forth by local, state or federal laws and regulations.

Some of the revisions include:

  • Policy 4000 has been updated to reflect that Employee Wellness is a function of the Human Resources Division.
  • Policies 4210, 4300 and 4880 have been updated to include "military" as well as "veteran status" to comply with the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act to include "military" status as a protected class for certain individuals. 
  • Policy 4520 has been changed to reflect the current District practice of publishing a single Employee Handbook, rather than employee handbooks specific to employee groups.
  • Policy 4640 has been changed to clarify that "[r]egular, dependable, in-person attendance is an essential function of every position in Lincoln Public Schools."
  • Policy 4930 has been updated to eliminate outdated areas of emphasis for staff professional development. 

The Board voted to approve the policy updates.

Informational items and reports

Government Relations and Civic Engagement

Committee Chair Piyush Srivastav provided a summary of the committee meeting last week. As part of the update, Srivastav reported that they received an update on current and upcoming legislative issues.

An annual communications update was given during the committee meeting in which Executive Director of Communications Mindy Burbach shared the LPS Communications Team received 12 national awards for their work and 377 stories were posted last year on LPS.org. 

Superintendent update

During the Superintendent Update, John Skretta shared recent awards and accomplishments by Board members. Those included President Bob Rauner and Vice President Piyush Srivastav earned Board Member Level Awards from the Nebraska School Board Association for their participation and engagement with the state organization. In addition, Rauner was recognized by Rotary 5650 with the Cadwallader Award.

Skretta also recognized Associate Superintendent for Educational Services Mike Gillotti and Library Services Director Chris Haeffner for their comprehensive presentations at the Community Advisory Committee earlier in the week. 

The report was concluded by highlighting school visits by Skretta and Board members including the Hill Elementary Constitution Day event and Eastridge Elementary School.

Public comment

There were no individuals that addressed the Board during the public comment period.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights LPS. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured Roper Elementary Early Childhood classrooms. 

Education Service Unit 18

The Educational Service Unit 18 met for its regular meeting immediately following the Lincoln Board of Education meeting. You can watch the full video of the ESU 18 meeting here.

ESU budget adoption and property tax request

The ESU Board held a second reading and voted to approve the 2025-2026 budget and property tax request. Highlights of the budget include:

  • Increases for salaries, benefits and contracted services to account for negotiated increases.
  • Adjustments to the Pathfinder Program increasing contracted services.
  • Increase in budget authority to account for Nebraska Department of Education grants to LPS and private schools run through the ESU.
  • The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next meeting on the proposed flat levy of $0.015, with a budget proposal of $21,685,252

Published: September 23, 2025, Updated: September 23, 2025